Whitman family reunited with dog after adoption by second family

After a week on her own outside, ten days in a shelter and three days with another family, Sophie, a ten pound Bichon, was finally returned to her family.

Erin Shannon

After a week on her own outside, 10 days in a shelter and three days with another family, Sophie, a 10-pound fluffy white Bichon, is home.

Sophie jumped out of the car and ran into the woods of the Ames Nowell State Park in Abington after Nicole Rowan, 17, of Whitman, got into a fender-bender in August.

The Rowan family searched for weeks but all they had were calls from people who had seen Sophie in Brockton. After two weeks, Robin Rowan received a call that Sophie had been brought to the MSPCA-Angell Adoption Center in Jamaica Plain.

Sophie had no microchip and no collar so the staff could not identify her. The first day she was made available for adoption, the Snellman family of Belmont took her home.

Kaisa Snellman said her 6-year-old son, Max, fell in love with the little white dog but made the tough decision to return her to the Rowans when they heard her story.

The Snellmans were not legally obligated to return the dog, said MSPCA spokesman Rob Halpin.

“They opened the door and she ran and jumped into my arms,” Rowan said of their reunion. “She just made us realize how things can change in a minute.”